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120 Forum Members Set DVD Standards
The DVD Consortium (later renamed DVD
Forum) was formed to hammer out a single standard. The consortium
consisted of Matsushita, Mitsubishi, Pioneer, Philips, Hitachi, JVC, Sony,
Thompson, Toshiba and Times Warner. Monitored closely by the entertainment
and computer industry alliances, the Consortium developed the DVD-ROM
standards that would provide 4.7GB capacity on a single-sided disc and
would enable read-compatibility with existing CD-ROM, CD-R and CD-RW
media.
The DVD Forum membership, which included
content developers and other interested parties, established several
working groups to attack a broad range of issues, including recordable
(write-once, read-many) and rewriteable media requirements. These
requirements included:
| A
single format for computer, TV-based applications |
| Backward
read compatibility with current CD technology |
| Forward
read compatibility with future R/W and WORM discs |
| Single
file system for all content and disc media types |
| Low
cost |
| No
mandatory container |
| Reliable
data storage and retrieval |
| High
on-line capacity |
| High
performance for sequential, non-sequential data |
Following a three-month evaluation of drive
and media compatibility by more than 20 personal computer and storage
media manufacturers from around the world, the DVD Forum unveiled the DVD-R
and DVD-RAM standards in 1997. Since then, the DVD-RAM standard has been
adopted by the Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) and the European
Computer Manufacturer's Association (ECMA) and is being reviewed by ISO
(International Standards Organization).
The present DVD-RAM standard provides 2.6GB and 4.7GB
of single-sided storage capacity; read compatibility with DVD-ROM, DVD-R,
CD-ROM, CD-R and CD-RW media and a road map for regular capacity increase
milestones. In addition to providing fast data access, the initial
products already provide very low-cost storage solutions (2.6GB
single-sided media provides a storage cost of only .009˘/MB and
double-sided 5.2GB media provides a storage cost of only .008˘/MB).
| 5.2GB
DVD-RAM |
2.6GB
DVD-RAM |
Compact
Disc |
 |
 |
 |
The DVD Forum currently has grown to 160
member firms working together to provide compatibility testing,
international standardization, roadmap for developing DVD-RAM, DVD-R and
DVD-ROM droves and media, and content development.
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